Urosigalphus taniae Arias-Penna

Carolina, Diana & B, James, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the Colombian species of Urosigalphus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Zootaxa 3411, pp. 1-54 : 45-46

Urosigalphus taniae Arias-Penna , n. sp.

Figs. 20 A–F

Female. — Body length 2.25 mm.

Body color ( Fig. 20 A): mainly black. Flagellomeres dark brown. Scape and pedicel light brown. Annellus light brown. Labrum yellow-brown. Mandible red-brown. Mandibular teeth red-black. Labial and maxillary palps light yellow. Fore and mid legs light yellow-brown, but only femur and fifth tarsomere light brown. Hind legs dark brown-black except trochanter, trochantellus and base of tibia yellow-brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 20 F): tegula dark brown, but with a central, round, dark yellow-brown spot; stigma dark brown. Membrane of both fore and hind wings light brown and with brown microtrichiae. Body slender with fine pubescence.

Head.— Subround. Antenna with 14 flagellomeres; first three flagellomeres much longer than wide (0.17:0.06; 016:0.06; 0.15: 0.06 mm); scape as long as first flagellomere (0.16: 0.17 mm), scape wider than pedicel and first flagellomere (0.08:0.06: 0.06 mm); pedicel half as long as scape (0.08: 0.16 mm). Torulus located at midline of the eye. Frons with a longitudinal median carina arising from face, crossing the frons and reaching the deep and carinated depression located below median ocellus; carina with irregular and heterogeneous areolation throughout; lateral part of frons with small and dense punctures near toruli, but scarce next to vertex. Scrobes very deep, wide, not surrounded by a carina, smooth, but only lateral part next to eye with small, dense punctures; scrobes reaching vertex. Lower face strongly convex, with small and dense punctures homogeneously distributed; interspaces shiny, smooth and wide. Fronto-clypeal suture strongly impressed, rounded, with deep foveolae. Anterior tentorial pit not embedded within a strong depression. Clypeus flat, not on same plane as lower face, with small and dense punctures; interspaces narrow, shiny, smooth, but with some wavy areas; apical part reflexed, narrow, smooth, shiny, with a defined edge, without carina. Labrum with small, homogeneous and dense punctures; interspaces narrow, smooth, shiny. Mandible long and slender, basally carinate-rugose; mandible set with two smooth, shiny teeth with sharp apex, superior teeth longer than inferior. Maxillary palps longer than labial palps. Ocelli oval not surrounded by carina; lateral ocelli distant from each other, separated by more than the width of lateral ocellus (0.09: 0.05 mm). Stemmaticum with small and sparse punctures; interspaces wide, shiny and smooth; pubescence scarce, long; stemmaticum slightly higher than vertex, forming a projection like a plateau, highest point flat. Eyes without preorbital carina. Vertex with some small and sparse punctures, without carina; interspaces very wide, smooth and shiny. Occiput concave, shiny, with some small and sparse punctures; ventrally with more pubescence than dorsally. Occipital carina present laterally, absent dorsally. Temple and gena both with small and sparse punctures distributed homogeneously; interspaces wide, smooth and shiny.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 20 A–D). — Projection of propleuron acute. Pronotum ( Fig. 20 B) anterior part with a distinctive row of small foveolae throughout edge, middle part with a smooth area although with some heterogeneous punctation along curvature of pronotum; dorsal and lateral parts with a row of sculpture. Pronotal lobe ( Fig. 20 B) with a depression sloped toward tegula and point of inflection carinate. Mesoscutum in dorsal view uneven ( Fig. 20 B), with small and homogeneously sparse punctures; interspaces very wide, smooth and shiny; lateral mesonotal lobes ( Fig. 20 D) slightly sloped anteriorly, with deep, elongate punctates nearly of same size throughout edge; median mesonotal lobe convex, with one continuous longitudinal median carina which is less than half as long as median mesonotal lobe; posteriorly with foveolae of different sizes; interspaces narrow, smooth and shiny; area of convergence of notauli with deep foveae of different sizes forming an inverted triangle. Notauli with large, elongated foveae throughout, notauli very near edge of transscutal articulation and without additional row of punctures. Scutellum ( Figs. 20 B,D) triangular, convex; on same plane as mesoscutum, although middle part bulky; great part shiny and smooth, but only very scarce punctures below scutellar sulcus; apex of scutellum with irregular lacunae; posteriorly scutellum slightly sloped and reaches the posterior scutellar depression; scutellar sulcus with four deep, uneven foveae; posterior scutellar depression with two carinated, square foveae that fill the whole smooth area. Middle part of metanotum below posterior scutellar depression without a projection (spine). Propodeum antero-posteriorly short, symmetrical; MLC short, high, with acuminate apex, but not projected ( Fig. 20 B); ATC high making an invagination and reaching the same length as MLC; AMA irregular rectangle-shaped; LLC inclined; all the carinae of propodeum at the same level; sculptures of propodeum areolate-rugose; posterior wall of propodeum slightly convex with deep and irregular areolae, interspaces narrow, protrude, shiny and smooth. Metapleuron with large areolae of different sizes. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 20 B) with epicnemial carina but without sternaulus; central area of mesopleuron convex, mostly with small and very scarce punctures, interspaces wide and shiny; dorsally with two rows of sculptures, one below tegula with a deep groove of punctation, the other row with three large, irregular and deep punctures; ventrally with areolae of different sizes, shapes and conspicuous diagonal carina that bears large areolae throughout; anteriorly with elongated, narrow, flat area that bears small, dense punctures throughout the edge; posteriorly scrobiculate throughout. Mesosternum ( Fig. 20 C) flat, punctures small and sparse, with a complete central row of foveae of different sizes surrounded by carinae; lateral parts with weak carinae; mesosternum near fore coxa with a high lamella with solely one high and central point; carina next to mid coxa wavy and with areolae throughout forming two semicircular areas at each side.

Wings ( Figs. 20 A, E). — Fore wing ( Fig. 20 E): vein M+CU markedly curved (sinuate); vein 3RSb tubular, distant from stigma (0.42 mm); subbasal cell as long as basal (0.9: 0.7 mm); stigma elongate. Fore wing: length 2.20 mm, width 0.70 mm; hind wing: length 1.71 mm, width 0.42 mm.

Metasoma ( Figs. 20 A, F). — Carapace in lateral view teardrop-shaped; anteriorly with strong substrigulations that cross more than half the length of the carapace; area between the carinae lacunose. Apex of carapace convex without tubercles (teeth), and with wide smooth and shiny central area; interspaces wide, shiny and smooth. Ovipositor ( Fig. 20 A) length 0.65 mm. Carapace length 1.27 mm.

Male.— Unknown.

Biology.— Unknown.

Comments.— The last flagellomeres are missing.

Material examined.— Holotype, female, Colombia, Putumayo PNN [Parque Nacional Natural] La Paya, Cabaña La Paya, 0º2´S 75º12´W 330m Malaise 20.xi.–05.xii.2001 E. Lozano leg., M. 2798, IAvH-E 34301. Deposited in IAvH-E.

Etymology.— In honor of my sister and colleague Tania Milena Arias Penna.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Urosigalphus taniae n. sp. (A) habitus; (B) mesosoma, lateral view; (C) mesosternum; (D) mesosoma, dorsal view; (E) fore wing; and (F) carapace, lateral view.